The book’s images highlight locally grown produce at its luscious best in more than 100 recipes designed to nourish body and soul. We’re talking simple recipes, made from scratch, with homegrown or farm fresh products as the focus.

Author Burnside’s premise for this book is her passion for whole foods, lovingly prepared and well presented. Who can argue with such a common sense approach? Burnside is a well-known local entity; for the past two decades she has been homesteading and practicing a sustainable lifestyle — including growing her own food and body surfing at the beaches in beautiful Big Sur. She’s also the former co-owner chef of Carmel Cafe in Carmel, ran Cafe Amphora at Nepenthe in Big Sur, and managed the kitchen at Esalen Institute, the wellness retreat center, for several years.

There’s a lot to like in this cookbook. Novices may appreciate basic recipes such as grilled whole fish, hummus, and oatmeal, along with simple stocks, sauces, and salad dressings.

But there’s enough here to whet the appetite of more experienced home cooks as well. I particularly like the sound of the Creamy Mango-Coconut Smoothie (with soaked cashews), and Kale and Sea Vegetable Salad with Sesame Citrus Dressing.

I like the handy tips sprinkled throughout the pages, such as “I always use the highest quality oils and vinegars for my salad dressings because they tend to have considerably more flavor than cheaper brands, and a little goes a long way.” And: “The wonderful flavor and texture of freshly made tortillas is well worth the extra effort, and once you try them, it might be tough going back to eating the commercially made varieties.” Agreed.

To win a copy of The Homesteader’s Kitchen leave a comment below telling me about one fruit or vegetable you’d like to learn how to cook.

Entries must be received by Thursday, July 22, PT by 10 pm.

Winner chosen at random.

I’ll announce the winner on Friday, July 23. Reminder: you’ll have exactly one week to claim your prize.

Thanks to Romney (Nani) Steele, author of My Nepenthe for the heads up on this book.

Update: Apologies, peeps, a day late getting to this giveaway, crazy busy week. Thanks to all of you for chiming in and making this my most popular giveaway to date. A copy of The Homesteader’s Kitchen, chosen at random, is going to Rachel Higgs. Stay tuned for a pending post responding to some of your recipe requests below. And do stop by next month for another great giveaway.

Updated update: Repeated attempts to reach Rachel Higgs were unsuccessful, so the book goes to Ellen Ring, chosen at random from among the comments. Ellen wrote back right away with her snail mail address and The Homesteader’s Kitchen is on its way to a new home. Enjoy!

I would like some alternative recipes for my upcoming harvest of avocados, but I don’t suppose there are recipes like that in there! Short of that, I’d like to know what to do with greens like kale and bok choy.Kris Bordessa´s last [type] ..Monico’s Taqueria on Kauai

When shopping in the produce section (unfortunately I don’t have my own garden yet), my desire is to eat “all the colors of the rainbow” but I always seem to stick to the veggies I know. One beautiful veggie I often admire, but usually don’t buy is the gorgeous sleek eggplant. I have tried cooking it maybe a couple times and haven’t tried again. I know how nutritious it is, but feel very intimidated by it.

SO, I’d love to learn the secret of the eggplant and incorporate it into our diet!

Ohh I put eggplant into many things – one way is to saute it along with the onion stage of your spaghetti sauce – it eventually just melts in and really bulks up a vegetarian sauce. Of course, dipping slices in egg and breadcrumbs; frying; then layering with mozzarella and tomato sauce gives you eggplant parmigiana!

Zucchini? Grate a bunch, salt it in a colander, squeeeeeze the liquid out, mix with a few eggs and bread crumbs and you have the best zuke fritters ever (mix in a little onion and pepper) then fry up in safflower oil!